Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates to a container for holding snack foods and other items. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a cylindrical container for holding snack foods and other items that can be transformed into a bowl-like serving container, or a container system comprising a cylindrical container and flexible interlocking panels that can be stored either inside or outside the cylindrical container and assembled into a serving bowl.
Description of the Related Art
Composite containers are commonly used to hold snack foods, drink mixes and other consumable foods. A typical composite container has a cylindrical body or sidewall, a plastic or metal bottom and a plastic overcap. The container body may be comprised of a polyfoil inner liner, a paperboard structural layer and a paper outer label. The polyfoil inner layer has a moisture-proof thermoplastic layer that may contact the container contents, a metallic foil layer adjacent the thermoplastic layer, and an outer paper layer. A membrane seal may be positioned under the plastic overcap and sealed to the top edge of the container to help maintain the freshness of the contents and extend its shelf life. To access the contents the user lifts off the overcap and peals away the membrane seal.
When used for snack foods, such containers do not readily lend themselves to sharing the contents of the container unless the container is passed around. The present disclosure is designed to address this problem by providing a container that can be transformed into a serving container for easy sharing or a container system comprising a cylindrical container and flexible interlocking panels that can be stored either inside or outside the cylindrical container and assembled into a serving bowl.